The subtle science of a master molecular gastronomist.

This morbid, delightful curiosity shop offers everything from animal bones to human teeth.

A giant bronze coil of feces is both a tribute to doggie defecation and a reminder to pick it up.

Ancient structures used to make and preserve ice in the deserts of Persia.

A 16th-century horror show built in a lovely Italian garden.

A so-called Singapore junk store that is closer to a historical restoration center.

A licentious look into Singapore's past, full of disorderly bric-a-brac and disreputable characters.

A Singapore shrine to an unnamed German girl who has become a local deity.

Terrapins of all colors and shapes are quick to bring fascination (and possibly long life) at this museum.

This jam-packed Singapore antique museum preserves the fading remnants of a uniquely mixed culture.

Mysteriously stacked storefront paths give this medieval British town an iconic style like none other.

This ornate Victorian marketplace was the setting for Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron in the Harry Potter films.

Architectureal fantasy quarter of Rome.

The underground sanctuary of a mysterious ancient cult.

Planned as the world’s first zero-carbon city, it had lofty ideals—but is only 5 percent completed and aiming for 50 percent carbon-neutral.

A faithful reproduction of Al-Jazari's enormous water clock.

A peculiar family mausoleum built by a German nobleman captivated by the occult.

Made of 41,900 pieces of mosaic, it took two years to piece together this giant egg.

This still-celebrated home was a radical architectural experiment in 3D De Stijl.

Most prolific publishing house in the 1600s open to the public.

Housing the groundbreaking maps and globes of Gerard Mercator.

This former Baroque palace on the historic Calle Montcada is a rare architectural gem and was once the meeting place of an aristocratic scholarly society.

This astonishingly geometric cave has inspired everyone from Jules Verne to Pink Floyd.

This imposing modern citadel started out as a home renovation project.